


Possession

by DaleEarwicker46



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternative Universe - Possession, Blood, Blood and Gore, Blood and Violence, Death, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Horror, Nightmares, Originally Posted on deviantART, Surprise Kissing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:53:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27026884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaleEarwicker46/pseuds/DaleEarwicker46
Summary: An AU in which a (not real) YouTuber explores a haunted mansion with the help of a certain albino. Little did they know, they've just walked into the waiting hands of death itself.
Relationships: Bicchiere/Keith Oggetto, Bicchiere/Winston J. Austin (mentioned)
Kudos: 1





	1. Entrance

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Mono_D_Duo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mono_D_Duo/gifts), [Deadly_Comedy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deadly_Comedy/gifts).



"Oi, Foureyes," Ryuken called, opening the door to their bedroom to reveal his younger brother, Shiano, lying on his stomach at the foot of the bed, watching TV. He looked up to the blonde, eyebrow raised in question.

"Yes?"

"There's a famous Youtuber coming around looking for someone to be his cameraman. Apparently, he has his sights set on you."

The albino sat up. "Who is this famous youtube you speak of?" He asked sarcastically. He doubted something like that was true, but agreed nonetheless.

His older brother smirked. "Bullone. Well, Boltsation49. This Youtuber from Italy, but was raised in this city. He's a thrill-seeking mythbuster that does a bunch of challenges that range from calling 'merda falsa' on fake scare rumors or simply non-existent myths to going out at 3 AM." He explained.

"Fascinating, but why me?"

"It was at random. He told me."

Shiano sighed. He was still unsure of it. "Where & when?"

"At this recently abandoned-looking mansion somewhere outside of town. He wants to meet up there at 3 in the morning." He answered, looking almost uncertain himself. "He just started on exploring a would-be haunted place and going out at 3 AM, I haven't heard of anyone else who did that, but I guess he's the only one."

"And I'm his cameraman."

"Yep. And don't be a wuss when you get in there with him. You got ice powers, you'll be fine."

A sigh of relief. "And the current time?"

The blonde's yellow pupils turn to the clock to the left of the room. "Two minutes to eleven. Could be the time for a little shut-eye."

"Ok then." He said, crawling into the covers, already in his sleepwear. "Will you be my second blanket at least?"

Ryuken chuckled softly. He pulled off his shirt & dove under the covers, spooning Shiano. Most of his skin had dissolved away, leaving fluffy patches of light yellow fur behind. The warm fur and immense purring culled the teen into a deep sleep before long.

* * *

A reverse rocket, owned by Mike Df, lands on the overgrown grass. Sitting down on the alabaster porch was Bullone, tapping away on his phone. He heard something land on the lawn and looked up to see Shiano on the weird vehicle hanging on to the greenette.

Smiling brightly, he gets up to greet the two. " Sei arrivato giusto in tempo, Shia. I see you brought your plus one, too."

The green-haired man in his boxers just frowned bitterly. He ushers the albino off of the rocket and slapped him, knocking his glasses off. "Get your own fucking transportation." He gritted before shooting the bird at Bullone and taking off into the midnight sky.

Bewildered, the brunette went and picked up the glasses. "What's his problem?"

Shiano, still massaging the red imprint on his cheek takes and slips them back on, cleaning the lens.

"My brother had his license temporarily revoked due to road rage and wanted Michael to take me instead. He didn't seem thrilled with the idea as it was early in the morning, but my brother didn't care." He shrugged, still feeling awkward from hearing the heated argument standing outside. "He...threatened to desecrate his parents graves unless he took me."

Bullone winced. "Jeez, some brother he is."

He shook his head, sighing. "You have no idea. Now, would you kindly hand me the camera so we can, uh, kick this off?"

Forgetting about the earlier scene, he hands over the device, his trademark grin returned. "Certo, amico. Roll the film."

Shiano presses record, angling it to where the celeb was in the shot.

Aaand, showtime!

"What is up, miei amici?" Bullone said in a hushed, but cheery voice. "It is I, Boltsation49, and I'm here outside of the recently abandoned mansion. In case you guys are wondering, it is three AM in the morning, which means another 3 AM challenge. However, that challenge will be taken to the next level, as I will be checking out this beautiful building that is rumored to be haunted."

As he goes on, Shiano's brows furrowed as he could sense that something eerie is watching them from the window. Keeping his hold on the camera firm, he took a look at the window and saw nothing. He shrugged. Must be a figment of his imagination.

"...let's jump right into it, shall we?" The MythBuster finishes off, then walks up the stairs towards the door, nodding for the teen to follow along.

When they both enter through the door, it shuts behind them without either of them noticing. Bullone switches on the lights, bathing the room in a dim light.

"The lights are a bit dim, nothing wrong with the power. Now we check out the place and see if the rumors are true. If they aren't, then this is merda falsa." The lights started flickering sporadically as he explained. "Whoa, chill with the lights, man, I know it's you.

Shiano wasn't anywhere near the windows but he moved away regardless. Of course, he doesn't notice a dark figure is doing it behind their backs.

As they moved further into the mansion, the albino heard faint whispers. The whispers grew in volume when they reached the kitchen.

"Look, the food here is still fresh. You want anything outta here, amico?" Bullone opened the fridge to find a container leaking something red.

"N-no thank you. Uh, do you hear the whispering? Because I do."

The brunette's ears twitched. "Yeah. What're they saying?"

"Something about 'help help' and 'my possession' or something."

He scoffed. "They must have someone upstairs on a microphone doing the tiny voices. And there's probably a bunch of little intercoms hidden everywhere."

Shiano wasn't so sure about that notion. The door closing behind him, the lights flickering, faint sounds growing into whispers, and a box in the fridge covered in clumped red and what looks almost like pieces of an intestine.

He sniffed the air and almost dropped the camera as he gagged. That smell was all kinds of awful, like someone dumped a canister of liquified copper on a pile of rotten meat. It worsened when Bullone took the container and opened it halfway.

He waved his hand in front of his nose to ward off the deathly scent. "Whoa, 'what are they eating in here?' Am I right? I bet it's just smushed meat with cut-up plastic organs with fake blood or something." He said, opening the box. "Along with a pinch of metal to really sell the blood smell."

_ My possession. My possession. Help. Help _

**_ H E L P _ **

The contents of the box were exactly what he expected. There were bits of organs spread around what looks like viscera from different animals. The albino stuck his half-feline nose in the air and took a big whiff and gasped, his eyes widened.

This hunk of meat sprinkled with intestines smelled way too close to human. And it was fresh too. The camera was starting to shake right along with the teen's hand.

"Bullone?"

"Yeah?" His gloved hand prodding around in the gory mess was covered in caked blood and tiny bits of organs. The albino looked paler than usual, "I don't think that's fake. At all."

Confused, Bullone was about to ask how so when the light in the kitchen suddenly went out, draping the two guys in pitch-black darkness.

"Ah yes, that classical lights out shtick! Very classy! " The brunette called, a beacon of light in his hand. "Well jokes on you, cazzone, I have a flashlight, haha!"

After that little spectacle (and dropping the pale full of gore), they make their way upstairs to the hallway where five doors lay. One of them all the way down was open. Strangely enough, it was the only place in the entire building with power. The brunette hands Shiano the flashlight and clapped his hands together, grinning at the camera.

"Alright ragazzi, we are on to the last part of this so-called haunted mansion, where we will discover whether the family occupying here is either dead or probably on vacation. Let's do it."

Their first room, a bedroom, was relatively normal, nice looking even. If not for the strong scent of copper drafting from it.

"Either someone sprayed the room with copper spray, or I smell someone's period."

Shiano grimaced. "I am blatantly sure that was unnecessary. If you want to confirm either, then maybe you should take a look. "

He shrugs and sneaks a peek inside. The albino swore in his mind he saw terror flash in Bullone's eyes. He saw something in there that was definitely unsavory for recording.

"Well?"

The brunette coughed nervously, hiding the fact that he threw up a little in his mouth. "Uhm, hehe, someone has indeed sprayed the room with copper. Moving on."

The second room was actually a bathroom. Nothing more. The third one made both of them stop cold wide-eyed. Games, DVDs, pillows, and the like were scattered across the ground. The window was smashed wide, the TV was smashed into the ground with a dark red leaking out from it.

They were both at a loss for words and continued on regardless. The whispers - now voices started off faint picked up volume to the fourth door. The Italian's confidence slowly deteriorated as they went.

As Bullone was about to twist the doorknob, he felt something briefly ruffle his hair. He turned to face the cameraman, looking just as confused as him.

"Was that you?"

The albino raised an eyebrow. "What? No, I'm still recording."

Shaking his head, he twists the knob and opens the door. It was pitch black in the room, save for the two red dots in there that're seemingly staring at him. He gestures for Shiano to hand him the flashlight. He takes it and shines the light at the source of the red dots. He jumped back in surprise.

In the darkness, that was another bedroom, stood a dark gaunt figure, his eyes glowed a light red in the light. It stood with an inhuman stillness, it had no other features besides its two red eyes.

What is that? A creature? A spirit? Both? Or maybe some guy in a black suit with red contacts.

Bullone calmed down, he grinned, knowing this whole place was all a giant prank. He almost dropped the flashlight as he exploded with laughter. He fell against the albino still recording, trying to catch his breath.

"Ohoho shit! That-that was the weakest attempt at a scare in the whole fucking world!" Bullone choked out in between howling laughter, not realizing the figure in the room had disappeared, to the dismay of the teen.

"Alright, alright, ok." The brunette breathed. "You had me there, you really had me- the lights flickering, the bunched up meat and organs, the massacred corpses in the bedroom, and the other one that looked like a grenade went off in there. Man, you guys really pulled out all the stops here." He looked to the camera still on him, grinning victoriously.

"Signore e signori, dichiaro che questa villa infestata dai fantasmi ... False merda!"

"Um, Bullone?" Shiano's voice sounded disturbed.

"Not now, Shia. I'm doing my little victory dance in the dark right now." He said in a sing-song voiced as he busted a move.

** Y O U A R E B O T H I N M Y P O S S E S S I O N **


	2. Not fake

"Ok...I see you've got a f-few voice mods stuck around here somewhere. I already called false merda regardless, you can stop now, you've made your point." His voice shook with oncoming terror beneath his fading cheery tone.

The albino kept his sight, and camera, directly onto the figure standing over him as his free hand behind his back was forming an ice blade. He was poised to strike should the strange being move an inch.

' _You've got ice powers, you'll be fine.'_

_ Yeah, I'll be alright. _

His grip on the blade fastened. The brunette continued his half-panicked rambling, his eyes darting from the creature to the stairs, of course, he didn't check the 5th one now that it was starting to click this guy wasn't human. But his curiosity simply couldn't leave him be, he stepped backward toward the door, opening it slowly. The light shimmering from it widening in size, swallowing up the darkness in the hallway, and bathing the blackened figure, exposing its full form.

"H-hey, amico, over here. The fifth room..."

The camera shifts along with Shiano to the room with the lights on. The two were shocked, not even paying attention to the figure that just now disappeared. The walls were splattered with blood, bits of what seemed to be brain matter, and organs were sprinkled everywhere. On the walls, the floor, the window, and even the ceiling.

In the right side corner of the empty room sat a pile of trash bags that stank of something metallic, a pile of burnt clothes in the other, and a wooden chair with a whiteboard upon it, something red was plastered on it in a messy red jumble of words.

He stepped inside, ignoring the faded wails echoing in the room, to get a better look at what was written on the board.

He audibly gulped when he could make out the emboldened words in the mix.

Property

The albino zoomed on the board, taking a closer look. He was now shuddering when his senses picked up on another entity. It was far more terrifying than the figure in the hallway, he could barely put any motion in himself to swing the blade still in his hand at whoever it was standing behind him.

"Bullone," Shiano said low, tightly gripping his icicle dagger. "Get ready to run."

The Italian turned his head, perplexed. "Che cosa...?" He drifted off once the sight of the creature came into view. At this point, he no longer doubted this haunted house was fake.

The monstrosity was almost hard to see with all the smoke billowing from its dark grey scales.

It was crudely mutilated at the waist as if the deed were done by a butter knife. Its innards and tendons hung, swinging stiffly. A small crack on the left side of its forehead, oozing blood. its sockets were black and soulless save for the occasional red glow whilst blood poured freely from where it's eyeball would've been, and had razor-sharp teeth.

Bullone swore his eyes couldn't go any wider when he saw this-this monster. But he couldn't let it distract him from his next course of action. The exit.

The creature gurgled, his head fell to the side as he advanced towards the teen turning to face him. He backed away, holding the still-recording device.

Shiano stood beside the brunette and shoved him the camera, his violet pupiled eyes hardened, the dagger in his hand grew another inch before Bullone's eyes.

The creature emits a soft groan and smoke starts simmering out of its mouth. Shiano could sense he was about to lunge. "When I charge the abomination, make for the exit downstairs, I'll be right behind you." His voice was deathly calm, despite the rattle in it.

He nodded.

A split-second later, the albino lurches toward the monster, jabbing his weapon into one of its eyes. Its shriek sounded like a distorted static screen as it clawed it's nailless fingers on the dagger lodged deep into its eye sockets.

"Ima iku!" Shiano shouted, wrestling the eerie entity to the ground, dirtying his shirt crimson. Bullone wasted no time in bolting out the door.

**_ M Y P O S S E S S I O N _ **

**_ M Y P R O P E R T Y _ **

**_ H E L P _ **

He tore down the hallway, tightly clutching his camera, down the stairs towards the exit. He was almost there, almost there-

_** N O ** _

An unknown force grabs Bullone by the hair and pulled him away from the door, undaunted by his attempts to release the phantom hold digging into his scalp. He cursed loudly, dropping the camera still recording, and tried futility to keep his feet on the ground.

Shiano came running down the stairs, his clothes coated in blood. He stopped just as he saw the black figure from before floating in midair, holding Bullone by the hair.

"Agh! Hey, get this dio abbandonato mostro to put me down- shit!"

"Hold on! I'm coming!" He cursed himself mentally for the choice of words

"WHAT DO YOU THINK I'M DOING?! _FUCK_!" He screeched at the albino as he flailed helplessly. A chunk of hair was starting to give, and he felt something warm flow down his forehead.

He conjures two spiked balls of ice and with a grunt, chucked them hard towards the spirit with Italian hair in his grasp. He jumped over the rails underneath the two a split-second after throwing the balls, ready to catch Bullone.

Unfortunately, the figure saw it coming and used the Italian Youtuber as a shield.

His final words before the ice-balls hit were, "Oh SHIIIII-"

_**Cr-Rack** _

The albino watched it happen with a horrified expression. He didn't think the creature would dodge, much less use Bullone as a shield. He felt drops of blood land in his hair and on his shoulder.

He didn't even move an inch, he was frozen on the spot, too petrified to even say anything. The unknown entity patiently waits for Bullone's spasms to stop, before finally letting go and letting the brunette drop to the ground.

The corpse hits the floor in front of Shiano with a sickening thud. His violet pupiled eyes dilated at the fatal damage he unintentionally caused. He laid there motionless, his wide eyes glazed over, mouth contorted into a silent scream. His brown hair splayed all over the floor, blood pooling from the side of his head with blood leaking out of his mouth.

One ball was lodged deep into his hair, into the skull. The other rested inside his right lung through the hole in the ribs. Blood oozed in clumps down his chest from the frost cooling it.

"N-no. No."

Tears swam in his vision. He didn't mean for this to happen, now Bullone, the Youtube sensation, was dead. This house did this, now they'll pay the price. For now, he needs to get the hell out of there and get back home.

Shiano wiped the tears from his eyes and whispered a silent farewell before turning and making a run for the door open a crack.

However, in his haste, the figure observing from above dove down and grabbed him by the neck and throttled him violently.

"Grk! Nngh, y-yamero." He begged weakly, struggling to breathe past the inky black hands pressing down his throat.

The creature strangling him doesn't respond but instead squeezed harder. The albino desperately tried to freeze time, to severely lower the temperature on its fingers, anything to loosen its iron-clad grip on his neck.

_** Y O U A R E M I N E ** _

The black figure's eyes glow a vivid red, it's hands fade into Shiano's neck, resting on his cervical spine. He trembled, pawing at the arms pathetically and pulled, trying to dislodge whatever it was that was inside of his throat.

The figure firmly grasped the spine in both hands firmly. In one smooth motion, he bends hard and snaps it in half and lets the teen fall dead on the ground.

The albino's head flopped backward as he flopped down to his knees. Blood began oozing down the corner of his mouth and from his ears, painting the carpet he died on dark red. After a few moments, the teen crumpled on his side, dead.

The camera laying a few feet from the deceased Bullone caught the whole thing before the figure came over and hit stop.


	3. Remnants & Destruction

"Austin, you sure this the place?" Keith whispered as Winston made his way up the stairs in front of the double doors. "ya know, where two blokes were reported missing at?"

"I think so." He confirmed, tightly securing his scarf.

The purple-head placed his hand on the doorknob but stopped when he heard a distorted whisper. The blonde came closer after he noticed his hesitation, "Something up?"

"N-no. Just felt a small chill, is all."

* * *

The partially dimmed living room looked pretty nice even though the entire building was haunted. Regardless, the two took their time to look around and even interact with some of the expensive items in there. Winston's nose wrinkled upon catching the weak, but pungent scent of pennies far off to his right.

While Keith was busy trying to get the TV on the wall to come on, he went towards the stairs to check out where the smell was coming from, the scent getting stronger the closer he got.

'What is this?'

He looked all over the staircase to find the source of the odor, he spotted something dark red out of the corner of his eye. His eyes narrowed, he leaned over and saw a large puddle of blood with a trail leading off somewhere and two mostly melted ice spheres.

What the hell happened here? He turned around to see the Aussie cheering at the screen blaring what sounded like a boxing.

"Bloody show em, Jonesy! Beat the bloody piss outta him!"

Welp, he's busy. Eh, he'll look around the place solo. He turned to investigate further when he saw a smaller puddle of blood and a camera not too far off. "Hey, I think we've got something," Winston announced as he bent down and picked up the device.

Keith glanced over to where he held the camera and stood up, walking over to get a better look.

"A camera?"

"Yep. I'm no mystery solver, but I'm sure this puddle of blood belonged to one of them, like, whoever had this here. But who?"

The athlete's eyes widen. "You don't think...?"

He nodded. "Yep, and by the temperature of this here tells me this belonged to Shiano."

"Or maybe they were kidnapped and stored somewhere."

That was a bogus assumption and they both knew it. That puddle next to the stairs told him that losing that much blood and being kept in a place like this was very unlikely. Unless they lasted this long by a miracle.

The blonde stood up and shoved the camera in his coat. "Then we better go deeper, then."

"Yeah."

He started for the kitchen when a sudden chill ran down his spine. That familiar feeling of someone watching him from out of view. Standing inhumanly still behind him was Bullone. His skin was deathly pale, the left side of his brown hair and face coated in dried crimson. He only got a few solid seconds to see the wide grin and the gaping hole in his chest before he instantly faded.

The purplenette was the first to notice his distress and turned his head to see nothing there. "What? What's the matter?"

** G I V E I T B A C K  **

The depressed, yet angry voice of the deceased Youtuber blared loudly in his ears, making them ring. "Agh, just a little spooked. I'll be fine."

"Hope so."

They reach the dimly lit kitchen. The blonde, despite his ears ringing, offered to check the fridge. As soon as he made his way to the counter, he heard as well as felt something squish beneath his foot. He slowly looked down in disgust to see a flattened pile of meat next to a pail. The worst thing was the unbearable smell.

"Ah, shit!" He groaned, lifting his foot to see the bottom soaked in dripping scarlet that smelled of blood.

The purplenette came over to check out the sound after observing the strange circular marks on the wall. He let out a noise mixed between surprise and disgust as he shook the mess off the bottom of his silver sneakers. "Gah, I just got these last week!"

"What the hell is this anyway? It's like some mutilated corpse was dumped here or something! Is there a towel somewhere?"

Keith didn't answer, as there was a towel right next to him on the counter. He hastily took it, rose his sopping red shoe, and wiped the substance off the bottom, grimacing at the dark red spread all over the rag, and tossed it to Winston who caught the dirtied side of it.

"Man, you couldn't just fold it up?"

"Wash it off, mate." He snorted in reply.

"Egh." He raised his foot and wiped under it, plucking off anything that stuck to the sole. When he was finished, he tossed the bloody rag away and pulled up the handle. He had his hands in the warm water, hastily scrubbing his hands clean.

As the blonde washed, Keith turned back to see the rag had disappeared.

His brows furrow. "The hell?" He muttered.

** B E H I N D Y O U **

He jolted and whipped around opposite to Winston.

Nothing.

Shaking his head, Keith sped-walked out of the kitchen with him following close behind. Catching his breath and regaining his composure, he straightened up and marched to the stairs, ignoring the metallic odor from the right.

"Let's check upstairs."

They headed up, not even realizing that a pitch-black figure was floating behind them along the way.

* * *

After checking inside the fourth room, the duo planned on giving up and going home before a ghastly groan snatched their attention for the umpteenth time.

"That sound again! Is this some kind of sick prank?" Keith demanded out loud to nobody in particular. "Peek into that last room and meet me downstairs. This shit isn't worth a damn pissin' my pants over."

"Chill, Ogge. We're getting pretty close." Winston comforted, placing a hand on the Aussie's shoulder. "just let me do the rest, ok?"

He simply grumbled in response and took to leaning against the wall next to the final room. "Fine."

The blonde smiled, despite the creeping feeling of dread coiling in his nerves. He creaked the door open and slipped inside, switching the lights on. The entire room was bare, save for the blood splattered everywhere like a grotesque attempt at art gone wrong.

There were a number of six trash bags in the corner, two of them looked rather fresh. The man stepped cautiously to the pile, ignoring the whiteboard, and poked at the two large bags that laid close to the others.

"I think these two are it."

"That so?" The purple-head asked, walking into the room to see for himself.

"Yeah. Looks kinda fresh."

"Huh, ya don't say? Well, come on then, let's get em outta here then."

It took some effort but they managed to carry the bagged contents down to the living room.

"Oi, set em down here, gotta catch my breath."

Winston shrugged and set the bloodied one down on the couch to catch himself a break as well. He collected himself and bent down to slip his arms underneath the bagged corpse when the demonic whispering suddenly transformed into a booming roar.

_** G I V E I T B A C K ** _

_** M Y P O S S E S S I O N ** _

_** I T B E L O N G S T O M E ** _

_** M I N E ** _

The purple-head felt the phantom impact of the voices in his ears as the temperature in the room dropped 60 degrees like a stone.

"What the, why does it feel like a bl-bloody freezer in here?!" He shivered.

"Shit if I know. Luckily, I brought my scarf with me." He yelled as the voices grew impossibly louder.

"Then we better-," His eyes flicker towards the shredded pile of plastic on the couch and then to the blonde. "oh shit!"

"Wait, what?" Was all Winston could muster before something grabbed him by the arm.

His eyes go impossibly wide when he jerked around to see it was the albino.

His eyes were black and soulless, save for a red pupil in the right that leaked dark matter from one eye and red on the other. His skin was inhumanly pale and his neck had tiny red spots spotted in the shape of where he was strangled.

The blonde stared at the undead teen in his lifelessly dark eyes, feeling himself lose touch with himself. Not sure what to do, but knew he had to get away as he was quickly losing feeling in his arm.

"Oh, God!" Winston screeched. He tugged on the Freezing hand, desperately trying to get away. "Help!"

Keith stood frozen in place.

The blonde grunted as he felt his trapped arm burn with frostbite and with quick thinking, thrust his free hand into his scarf and pulled out his switchblade. Without any hesitation, he reared his arm back and threw it forward, jamming the blade deep into the dead teen's neck with a wet Schlick.

Dark red blood oozed like a waterfall from the wound, coating the side of its cobalt shirt scarlet. The walking corpse simply stood there, his face unmoved and his grip ever-tightening.

"Rrr, fuck!"

Whether it was the sudden silence in the room or the wet impact of a knife into flesh, it broke Keith out of his terrified spell by the shout of the man.

"Hey, get his monster off me!"

"A-ah! Bloody hell, I gotcha!" He should as he dashed towards the scuffle and latched both hands on one dead one digging its fingers into his blue jacket and pried hard.

As he struggled, he felt his fingers start to grow numb one-by-one. But he kept it up, before he felt a feathery sensation on his chest and the cool air before his back hit something hard. His scrambled mind cleared to find he was blown to the floor inches from the door and away from Winston.

"Shit, Keith-" He couldn't finish as he felt something cold plunge deep into his eye, immediately cutting his vision in half. He stiffened for a split-second before he let out a blood-curdling scream. The numbing pain radiated like a white-hot iron was twisting around the inside of his bloody orifice.

His arm was quickly frozen and snapped off before he had time to formulate any kind of noise. The next bout of screeching brought the Aussie into a panic.

"Austin!" Keith yelled.

" _ **HEEEEELP**_!!!" He screeched, turning to run towards the downed purple-head, but found he couldn't, as his feet were frozen to the ground without him knowing.

The ghastly figure then shuffled closer to the trapped blonde at an inhuman pace. He could do nothing but try to free his legs from his icy prison as his impending demise came closer. He barely managed to free his legs when sharp nails sink into his neck.

"Gh! N-no- hrk!"

To the horror of the purple-head, he witnessed with a hung open mouth and a horrified expression as he saw the dead teen yank its hand away, and with it, a chunk of viscera and flesh followed in its grip. Blood spurted from the open wound in his neck, on the standing corpse's face and broken glasses.

Winston gurgled, his life essence leaking down his shirt like a waterfall, the many veins in his throat severed and torn to shreds.

Keith could do nothing but watch Shiano hold the dying man up. His mouth curled into a feral snarl, puffs of ice spewing from its unusually sharp teeth. Then, it's mouth flew open, a deafening roar coming with it, forcing the Aussie to cover his ears, but his eyes didn't leave the scene.

The dead kid lunged, tackling the blonde to the floor, and immediately started ripping into his stomach with the ferocity of a wild animal digging into its prey. Winston took his final breath just as he felt his intestines being forcefully pulled out. At that point, Keith's own legs found the strength to push him up and lead him out the door, the sounds of bloody gore pounded in his ears even as he sprinted full speed down the street back to the mainland.

* * *

"Hey hey hey! Pull yourself together, mate! Now tell me what went down over there. And where's Winston?" Bicchiere barked as he cupped the porcupine haired man's face and shook him a few times.

"We-we were just going to take the bodies out and return them to this-this kid, and-and..."

"Yeah?" The ginger pushed on.

The purple-head couldn't go any further as he crumbled to the floor, bawling. He blubbered all he had seen, from when one of the corpses came to, to his friend being gutted like an animal right before his eyes.

He was already halfway to the mansion in his car once he heard the Aussie's incoherent words in-between the lines of 'he's dead'. He got out and dashed to the door and kicked it open.

"WINSTON?!?!" He bellowed into the dead of the area. He received no answer but advanced into the dimly lit foyer. He took to going up the stairs when a faint sound creased his ear. He spun around and stepped quickly to the source of the faint noise. His concentrated demeanor crumbled the instant he saw what happened with Winston.

His body laid in a massacred heap. His face was frozen mid-shriek, his eye was embedded into with an ice pick. His arm was snapped off, only the frozen stump remained, partially thawed. His stomach was shredded open, his innards pulled out and splayed all around his body.

"W-Winston..." Bicchiere murmured shakily, his eyes wide.

Before he could stop himself, he screamed.


	4. News & Retaliation

It's been close to a month since the news of the haunted mansion had surfaced, catching the eye of a certain youtuber. A week afterward, he went around his neighborhood looking for any volunteers, seeing if they've the courage to be his cameraman.

So far, no-one there was interested- well, those that barely knew him. Some that did very well, politely declined as they weren't as brave as he was, but they did appreciate the offer. That blew hard for Bullone there. Blew even harder when his past cameraman/friend went into therapy after going into shock from the huge scare they were in when they went into that abandoned pizzeria at 3 in the morning last year.

In his defense, he thought those suits there were homeless people calling it home in them, not actual robots that like to scare people. At least they were friendly.

He was sure he was going to have to explore the mansion solo, until he got the idea to explore the next neighborhood across from his. If he could recall, that place was named 'Jam Drivers Drive' for some reason. He heard this green-haired individual was behind it but he's not so sure of that notion.

His odds there were similar to last time. Almost everyone there knew him, and as much as they'd appreciate it, they had to turn it down, seeing the news said the ghastly black building was a danger to be around because of a few rumors. Some of them Bullone can call fake.

It wasn't until he reached his tenth door where he was starting to lose hope that one guy had answered, yes.

"Boltsation49?"

"In the flesh. As you say in your crazy Americano lingos." He replied, maintaining eye contact with the blonde standing in the doorway.

"What're you doing here?"

"Looking for a partner for a special project, which is debunking this mysterious haunted mansion. Do you have what it takes?" The brunette finished, his enthusiastic voice marred with defeat.

The blonde muses his disheveled hair in thought before answering, "No. But my brother could be your man."

"R-really?"

"Yep. Where's the meeting location?"

Bullone could barely contain his excitement at this point.

"Well..."

* * *

** Three weeks later **

Bicchiere pulled up the driveway of the home Shiano lived in, a solemn expression pulling at his usually upbeat features. It's been exactly two weeks plus another after the death of his friend, Winston. A month since the deaths of Bullone and his assistant, Shiano.

What saddened him more was breaking the news to his star pupil.

Ezina Hart.

It ate the ginger up that he was going to tell the fellow brit what happened. He heard from the late albino everything he knew about what she went through. The masked men that killed her parents among many others, her kidnapping, her rescue, the fate of the masked men, and of Mestello's reunion.

From the way he heard it, the girl has been through a lot of things. Things most people would never recover from. And for her to lose her savior to the throes of a dark force would crush her, but he had to tell her. There was no other way to go about it. As damaging as it is.

The ginger sighed deeply when he got out and closed the door to his car. Ultimately, he found it difficult to take a step forward due to the sheer weight of past events, but mustered up enough courage to put it aside. Keith, who woke up from his nap, rolled the windows down, revealing his tired features.

"Oi, Bicci. You ain't chickening out there, are ya?"

The unexpected statement made Bicchiere jump with a small yelp. He spun around to face the purple head, frowning. "No, j-just poking me noodle around a bit, thinking about what to tell 'er."

He sighed, thrumming his gloved fingers on the white metal of the car (Honda). "You know, uh, if you don't want to, then I will. Save you the trouble."

"No. This here's my burden. I've known her longer than we've jogged together. I'll handle it, really. Just give me a moment. And shut the window, you're letting the cool out."

Keith rolled his eyes. "Aye-aye, captain." He sunk his head back in and let the window up, a concerned look on him.

After that, the ginger took a deep breath through his nose and exhaled through his mouth as he approached the door. Gathering up the moxie, he gulped and knocked on the door three times and stepped back, waiting for an answer.

After a few seconds, he hears a muffled voice, then another. And then, the sound of a disengaging lock and the door opening, revealing Ezina in her outwear. She wore a depressed expression and had lost confidence in her posture, making her look more dead than alive. Just seeing her like that made Bicchiere's heart pang with guilt.

"Bicchiere?"

"Afternoon, Ez. I, I have some news. Good or bad?"

"Good news first." She said, her voice barely above a whisper. A blonde man with a light purple strand of hair stood with her, a comforting hand on her shoulder. He shared the same expression, but more saddened. He heard he was the teens older brother as well, real hoot he is.

"Alright." Bicchiere took a moment to slightly pinch the bridge of his nose hand release a much-needed breath and force a smile. "We've managed to find Shiano, your boy."

A coy smile stretches across Ezina's lips and a relieved sigh from the taller boy behind her. They seemed happy for a moment.

Only for a moment, before their cheery expressions fell a little

"And, the bad news?"

He doesn't answer for the longest time. He wasn't sure if it was worth mentioning, especially since the mangled remains of his closest friend blinked sporadically in his mind.

"Come on, out with it." Her hopeful expression turned desperate.

With a heavy sigh, he straightened up. "He's dead."

That was it. Two words. Just two words and that's that. That's all it took to bring both their worlds crashing down in a fiery fireball of destruction.

The other blonde just stood there, a real pained look in his eyes that shimmered with oncoming tears. Ezina's hopeful mood was crushed in an instant. A mixture of emotions overtook her, as the same did Ryuken, whose hair began to turn gray. Her face morphed into one of intense grief as tears pricked at the corner of her eyes.

"It's-it's not true."

The ginger sighed. "I'm sorry, love. It is. My mate died there alongside Bullone over two weeks ago."

The teen shook her head, lowering down to her knees, mumbling 'it can't be true' over and over. Her frantic rambling became warbled as tears fell onto the doormat.

"I'm very, very sorry, he's in a better place now." Bicchiere bent down to drag her up into a comforting hug as she started sobbing into his shoulder. As he held her, Ryuken was pacing the room, mumbling something under his breath that increased in volume.

"I should have known. I should have fucking known that would've be the day, how could I have been so goddamn stupid not to know then?!"

"What're you talking about?" He asked, confused.

"Tha-that day- well, night that Shiano's powers wouldn't save him from his own demise," Ezina spoke up, her once energetic voice watery and broken. "He told me himself after that time when a foe almost killed him. He would have been dead if I hadn't rushed in to save him."

"That night, when Mike dropped him off with Bullone, その自殺のろくでなし, it was only a matter of time. I should've been there to protect him."

The blonde stomped up to the wall and with a shout, rammed his fist into it, smashing a hole into the patterned drywall. That shook the ginger some with Ezina still in her arms, but not as much, he knew his pain. Winston was like a brother to him when they met in the tennis fields.

A moment wouldn't pass after seeing his corpse, that Bicchiere doesn't think back on the things he and the bugger did together. The best memory he had was of teaching him the ropes of playing tennis. He was a quick learner and was top of the class next to Ezina.

Speaking of Ezina, she unwrapped herself from him and wiped away the tears from her eyes when she suddenly doubled over, clutching her head. Her quiet sobbing morphed into strained whimpering.

"Ezi, are you alright?" The ginger asked concerned.

Almost unbeknownst to him, a few strands of her hair were slowly turning scarlet. It took him a few seconds to register Ryuken staring teary-eyed, one eye magenta, at her for him to notice.

"The hell?"

Her whimpering transformed into small gasps and then, growling. It started off soft, but grew deeper was more of her gorgeous blonde head took on a wine-like palette. The man's bewilderment took a fearful turn when she rose up, a feral shine in her red eyes and a feral growl etched across her face.

"Ezi...?" Both men asked at once.

The now redhead snarled and snatched Bicchiere up by the collar of his shirt and leaned in to where their foreheads met.

**" Run. Or I rip you to pieces."**

She released him, letting him fall to the ground. Mestello came in, the words asking what was going on died in her throat when she saw Ryuken standing there, ogling Ezina, who glowed faint red.

The feral redhead stepped outside, closing the door behind her as Bicchiere dragged himself away from the teen towering over her menacingly.

"What's become of you, Ez?" He murmured dreadfully before he scrambled up and ran down the driveway into the street, not even appalled by the fact that he left his car, and Keith inside.

Poking his head out of the window after letting it down, he whipped his head out.

"Oi! You left your- whoa!" His eyes lay upon the glowing female that now had her sights set on him.


	5. Hide and Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bicchiere manages to escape his crazed tennis mate after she doesn't take the news of her lover's death very well. He may have guaranteed his survival, but not someone else's.

Boy, was he glad his house was farther south down the road from the one he just ran from. Because honestly, he could almost feel her hot on his heels when he got halfway there, which served as motivation to run even faster, despite his legs screaming at him to desist doing so any longer. But he pushed it aside and managed to reach his front yard just as he was actually in danger.

So now, he sat in a fetal position in the closet of his room, firmly clutching one of his rackets, and shaking in terror. He knew Ezina wouldn't take the news very well, but he didn't expect she'd turn rabid from it shortly after and warn him that he would die if he didn't get out of there in a few seconds.

But then again, Bicchiere wasn't very sure about breaking the news to her from the get-go, but he couldn't afford to let her down, even though he hadn't been there with Keith and Winston two weeks back.

The ginger sighed deeply and tried to calm his erratic breathing, as he would be sure the former blonde was probably stalking around his place, looking for him. If he were questioned about that, he would most likely be correct. Bonus points if she was silent doing so as well, which wasn't any better since he left the door open a crack in his haste to hide in case she actually came for him. He'd close it, but the squeak from the hinges could give him away, and his discovery would be like from those horror movies, except the psychopath/monster's eye peeking through that slit in the door would be a crazed girl he once taught his flawless techniques.

Except for keeping it cool when under pressure. But this wasn't like in the field, and he wished he was there at the current moment. Maybe he could get there in his care if he'd just speed out from his hiding place to the door before Ezina noticed. Feeling bolder, Bicchiere slowly pushed the door open with his racket in hand, taking great care not to let the hinges squeak. He got up to his knees the further he opened the door, kneeling once he got it halfway ajar.

He got up out of the closet, pausing and listening for any signs of movement and heavy breathing. Once he confirmed he heard no such things, he tip-toed into the hallway and paused again. He listened for her but heard nothing but the tense silence in the atmosphere. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes for a second and opened them again, bearing a fierce look. And with a grunt, he darted as fast as he could out the hallway, all across his medium-large establishment, dodging, jumping, and sliding over the furniture without slowing down. During his dash outside, he never tried to pick up whether she was there and after him or not, as the adrenaline and the blood pumping in his ears kept him going.

After he jumped over the coffee table after springing over the couch, he dashed outside, arms raised and fists clenched in victory. However, he was too absorbed in his successful escape that he tripped over something in his yard, and fell face-first into the grass.

Didn't bother him. The unpleasant taste of wet grass and dirt mushing all over his face was better than his own blood. But wait...

Bicchiere quickly shook himself awake more and clambered up on his feet, desperately gasping for air now that the rush had worn and his legs ached more. He gazed upon the open door and felt stupid. All of that squabble over the fear he was followed here, he might as well as been chased by a ghost! But he didn't have time to curse himself for his fear-ridden folly, he needed to concentrate on- wait.

Did he forget his car? With _Keith_ in it in his haste to get out of there?

* * *

"Oh, s-shit!" Keith swore loudly as the red glowing teen made her way towards his side of the car. He hastily tugged on the seatbelt around his waist, struggling to find purchase on clicking it loose, especially when she bent down and slipped her hands underneath the car.

After frantically pressing on the button of the buckle a few times, it finally clicked and slid off, allowing the purple head to scamper into the driver's seat and hit the gas pedal. The vehicle jerked into motion but it didn't get very far. Keith's moment of relief died when the Prius stopped abruptly, the force slamming his face into the steering wheel, causing it to honk. He reeled back with a grunt, clutching his bleeding nose, and whipped around behind him. 

The formerly blonde Ezina held on tight to the back of the car, her fingers digging deeper into the metal exterior as the car still went on, trying to take off with her, but she got there first. With a roar, she began to lift both the Prius and Keith up into the air. Red aura flowing and encasing itself all over it. Keith popped his head from the open window, shouting for her to put him down.

"Oi! Oi, Ez, put me down! Put me down, it's too high up!"

Ryuken had come into the scene, by rushing in and tackling her by the waist, hoping to knock her down or at least, jostle her. But instead, he only succeeded in just brutally hugging her midriff, which only made her wince slightly.

"Ez, Ez, chill out!" He grunted, grabbing her arms to try and loosen her grip. "I'm torn up about it like you, but you have to calm down! Think about Foureyes, you think he'd want to see you like this?!"

Her response was to dislodge one arm and shove him off. He stumbled a few feet back, but then he tried to grab at her again by hooking her other arm still holding up the purple head, and received a hefty backhand to the face, knocking him down. Without hesitation, she regained her grip and began to spin around with the vehicle in tow.

By that point, Keith was hanging on to the seat in the car for dear life as Ezina's swings went faster and faster with each spin. When it did, he started to feel carsick, but in a perilous way, and he felt he might throw up if she doesn't stop this now. 

"Oh, god! Oh, God!" He screamed.

Now that he thought about it, perhaps he should've just stayed in bed today and ignored Bicchiere's call. Since the gory killing he witnessed weeks back just took a toll on him. What with the nightmares, loss of appetite, motivation to exercise, and sudden vomiting, it was a wonder he was still fit to this day, which wouldn't matter since he's about to be flung into the air.

Before that happened, as Ezina was at the apex of her speed, he said- well, shrieked one thing:

" **BULLONE, YOU FUCKING WANKER**!!!"

And with a mighty grunt, Ezina spun one more time and released the Prius, watching it fly high through the air as her crimson hair began to lose its color as Ryuken got up again.

* * *

"Ah, shitting hell! My car's up there and Keith's a bloody sitting duck!" Bicchiere scolded himself. This day wasn't just depressing and sad; it was also a terrible day to play the stupid tosser. But it wasn't too big of a deal, perhaps the guy was driving it down here, but he wasn't very sure of that notion one bit, considering that he could have been maimed by her, or worse.

Not wasting any time, he started off down the street back towards where he ran from when he looked up and stopped dead in his tracks. Soaring through the air was the red Prius. If you looked closer, a muscular purple-haired man is clutching the seat, screaming for his mother.

"Is that my...?" 

He didn't finish as the hunk of refined metal in the sky came down closer into clear view. He gasped, it was indeed his car, and Keith was in too. Before he could even let out a sound, his car flew at breakneck velocity and landed front-first into his garage from above with a deafening crash. He winced from the loud commotion and ran back towards his totaled home.

This is _so_ what he needed right now.


	6. Saved

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bicchiere assumed the worst from the crash, yet the Aussie is partially unharmed. Which is good and all, but...

"Holy mother of fuck! Keith!"

Bicchiere ran towards the carnage of twisted metal and splintered wood that was formerly his garage. Emotions ran rampant in his head: shock, horror, anger, and terror.

Of course, the ginger felt both shock and anger the most, as not only had Ezina's change to anger had shocked him into hiding (from nothing), but also the all-consuming rage from the damages done to both his car and his garage. But it'll have to wait for later. What came first was making sure this fitness nut was still alive.

He went in through the door of the garage, which fell down due to not being connected to anything, thanks to his car going through the roof, and navigated through the wreckage to the Prius stuck into the ground. He grimaced, the front of it was smushed and crushed into the cracked stone floor, like the results of a failed nosedive, but within a vehicle.

He pushed his way to the driver's side door hanging from its hinges and peeked inside, hoping Keith was ok or at least breathing. He let out a breath he didn't know he held in at the sight of the purple head. He was fine for the most part, aside from his hair being tousled, some small scraps of glass embedded in his skin, and a bloody nose. 

What shook the ginger was the frozen look of sheer terror on his face. It's almost like he saw a ghost- well he did weeks ago when it was ripping Winston apart like a wild animal.

"Ar-are you ok, mate?" Bicchiere stuttered.

He even hugged onto the seat like he was glued to it, which was an understatement considering how tightly his entire body clung to it like he was trying to squeeze it thin like he was, along with the seatbelt hanging loosely from beside it. But he was fine, he was fine.

Keith's only response was to stiffly look his way and squeak 'help me' and release his death grip on the seat and slid down on the wheel. Bicchiere rolled his eyes and reached up into his wrecked Prius to retrieve the petrified Aussie from the wheel by hooking his arms underneath him and dragging him out.

The purple head winced from the change in motion, but slid out of the vehicle, still shaking. After getting a clear footing on the ground, he just stood there, staring down at the ground, not even paying attention to the ginger snapping his fingers in his face.

"Hello! You aren't still zoned out, are ya? You gonna be alright? Hey!"

He doesn't react, much less look up. Bicchiere tch'ed, almost ready to shake the man if need be, but stopped short. Your friend doesn't simply shake it off when he's been tossed through the air into a garage in an expensive Prius by a rabid girl after she finds her lover was dead weeks after witnessing someone get tore into. It doesn't quite work like that unless you've been through ten years of bloodshed and seen all the horrors throughout it.

Perhaps his anger's taken over by that point after he was indeed alive. I mean, this whole silence moment would be different if the ginger had come in to see a flattened pile of blood, guts, and gore on the floor through the hole in the windshield. Thank God for that much.

By then, Bicchiere just sighed and turned on his heels towards the door a few feet away from the scene, thankfully unharmed, and started off towards it. If Keith was going to stand there like a statue, then he could at least be still when he fixes his face.

Before he took another step, he felt a gloved hand on his shoulder stop him and turn him around to face the Aussie. "Kei-"

Keith suddenly mashed his lips against Bicchiere's before he could finish. His other hand went up and gripped the back of his head to further press their lips together. He froze exactly like he did before, not moving an inch as the Aussie kept the kiss up. He didn't immediately pull off and slug him, nor did he push him away, as this was unexpected on so many levels. Against his will, he leaned into the kiss, his hand slithering up on his shoulder.

A second or two pass before they part, staring bewildered at each other and breathing heavily. For Keith, he felt utter relief for surviving the crash and coming out unscathed. For Bicchiere...

"You utter bent..." He mumbled after what felt like an eternity of them standing there, coarsely touching his lips. He must be dreaming, right? There was simply no way that just happened, it was a dream, it had to be. He might've just dinked his head on something, right? There was no way in hell this Aussie, his exercise partner, could have just done that, he couldn't believe it. Not ever.

But also, why hadn't he stopped him, even when they were in the midst of it? The answer was obvious, he was taken off guard. Despite that, he felt he should have seen it coming, but how do you? When the bloke had probably seen his own life flash before his eyes on the way back over to his place.

"S-sorry, mate," Keith apologized, placing a hand on the ginger's shoulder. "I don't know what spooked me into doin' that, really."

At least it was out of bravado.

Bicchiere only looked at him in growing contemplation and then in annoyance as he swats his hand away and walked off to the door. Before he went in, he looked back towards the purple head holding his hand like it got burnt while sporting a hurt look. He sighed.

"I-it's no worries, man. Just stay put, or something, I'll fix you up when I come back with something." He said before he disappeared behind the door.

His expression seemed to lessen from that, yet he couldn't quite fathom what made him do that. It wasn't like he could give the bloke all the credit, considering the garage softened half of the impact from the flight given to him. It could have been worse if her aim off or if she hadn't thrown him with such force. And the dude only just dragged him out after leaving him behind.

Regardless of that, it still happened.

* * *

' _Where the bloody hell could I have put that kit_ ?' Bicchiere thought in mild frustration as he opened up another cabinet in his kitchen. The only thing close to what he was looking for was some gauze wrapping and a half-empty container of those tennis ball-painted bathtub bombs. He forgot to put those in the bathroom, but never bothered with it, as he'd misplace the real tennis ball, and end up taking a few from up here without knowing it.

That's what he gets for drinking out with the boys those few times. He huffed softly through his nose and picked the container up out of there with the gauze and went to the bathroom with them. He placed it next to his well-polished orange & lilac-patterned bathtub and walked back out with the gauze in hand. When he got back to the kitchen, he threw the roll into the open cabinet and closed it before going on to the next one.

Opening that, he found his trusty medkit used to treat injuries when out on the field next to some bandages, and also that racket with spikes around it that he got from that strange tosser. Double Range was it? A strange sports instrument from a strange guy with a strange name. shrugging to himself, he took the medkit and the racket with him, as he felt he might need it later on for some reason.

* * *

"Have you lost it, Ez? What the hell's up with you?" Ryuken said in disbelief, looking at the red-headed Ezina staring off menacingly to the damage to the house she's caused, growling and twitching in place. Her gnashed teeth billowed red vapor with each exhale.

He stepped closer, growling himself, his eyes turning a dark mauve. He gripped her shoulder tightly, barely holding back squeezing it until he felt her bones creaked. 

"Are you even you at all, girl? What's wrong with you?" She didn't even look back at him or even respond, but at least squirm slightly in his grasp.

What happened to Ezina? That question popped up in his mind again ever since he saw her blonde hair turn blood red and her aura change. For the first time in his life since leaving Japan, he's been caught off-guard by remotely anything relating to this. He knew the blonde was prone to some outbursts here and there once pissed with enough, but this? This was on an entirely different level. Probably as fierce as he'd be on a bad day or against some stubborn douche.

Is there something about this that's she's not telling her? Whatever it is, it'll have to wait because her sights were on his now. She slowly turned back towards the blonde and raised a hand.

He could almost feel the heat coming from the ball of red energy growing that fizzed out vapors of something hot. 

"Ez-"

Ryuken barely even saw the shot coming, as its speed matched a bullet's when he jumped to the side. He tch'ed as he noticed there was a section of his open vest burnt and smoldering on the left side. Another one zips his way, he ducks, feeling the intense heat singe away a few hairs over his head. He dove to the right in case Ezina threw another one and charged at her full speed.

Her crimson eyes glow as though they were going to unleash hellfire as she steeled herself, the red aura around her thickened, almost as though it was apart of her attack.

When he got close, her fiery hand shot out at a wide ark, aiming for his face, but he jumped over her at the last second and countered with a spear kick as he landed. She stumbled forward and did a roll before jumping to her feet and conjured up more blasts.

But not just ordinary blasts. Ryuken rushes at her again, powering up for an ax kick. She swings her arm forward, sending a bigger, but slower ball. He scoffed and simply twisted around it, still running, when he heard a boom and felt a rush of air push him into the air right towards Ezina. She released another one right in his direction, which was faster.

' _Shit!_ '

He's too close, the ball of energy might just explode and scatter him all over the driveway. Lucky for him, the aerodynamic badge Mike gave him worked wonders, as in, he shoved both arms out in front of him and felt a rush of air propel him away from the rupturing sphere moments before collision.

Taking the moment, Ezina charged forward at breakneck speed towards the descending blonde and dd a diagonal flip, sending her heel crashing full force into his shoulder, sending him to the ground with a loud crash.

The force of the impact reverberated throughout his body, most likely his lungs, and he was wheezing for air, but the redhead didn't stop there. She kicked him dead-center in his side where his kidney was like a football, sending him flying into the porch, pulverizing the last step at the bottom. He gagged and grasped his side as he coughed up blood. Since when could she hit that hard? Because he felt something in him begin to rupture and compress and his collarbone and ribs crackle at certain joints.

It wouldn't take him very long to heal those injuries up and get back into the grind of getting Ezina's rage under control. As he brought himself up on his knees, eyeing the redhead charging up yet another explosive blast. As he watched the vapors drift from her bared teeth, he took two things into consideration. One, she was a lot stronger than she usually was, her strikes at full force either damaging an organ or fracturing and breaking a bone or more. 

Two, those scarlet blasts of hers not only burnt when they hit, but when made bigger, they explode when more than a meter close, whether it hits or not. Now that he thought about it, that first one that launched him left a small burn on his back through the hole in his shirt and vest. That faint alien sense of panic worked its way into his mind when it hit him that those blasts she threw his way were similar to fire.

_Fire_

The sane Ezina's light blasts wouldn't leave any lasting burns but he'd avoid them regardless. And they sure as hell wouldn't be sensor bombs unless she put some effort into it. What could stop her from becoming The Flash was exactly what Foureyes could do. Freeze her solid, or slow her down. Simple. 

With that in mind, he shakily stood up, shaking off the remains of the porch steps and pulling out any pieces of wood stuck in him. He stared down the redhead approaching him with one of her hands encased in brilliant red in the shape of an ax and twirled his magenta lock around whose tip had a pale blue hue to it that frosted over with his hand.

They stare each other down, waiting for each other to make a move. Seconds pass and Ezina makes hers before Ryuken registered. She made a mad dash towards him, swinging her ax hand over her head for a devastating chop that would not only split his head in two but go all the way down to his navel. He stepped to the side just as she got close enough to swing and jumped back, his left hand crystallized and ready.

She didn't redirect her swing in time as she only spun in a complete circle, hitting nothing but thin air. She got her bearings back and whipped towards the blonde who was in a readied stance and snarled.

He beckoned her to come forth with his other hand and came to him she did with a fierce bellow. The blonde shouted as he drove his fist into the ground, sending a freezing wave towards her. When it hit, every inch of her was covered in thick glistening ice that rendered her immobile completely. She struggled against the crust of ice fiercely, shouting expletives at the blonde strutting towards her with a solemn, yet upset facade.

"It's no use, that ice is two times thicker and absorbent." He spoke in a soft tone that didn't sound like him, panting from the absence of the adrenaline rush that's long since passed. "Look, you aren't the only one that's torn up about Shia's death, I feel the same way. Hell, I even almost went berserk over it too, I'm not gonna lie there."

She stopped struggling but instead growled silently at him as he went on.

"I had no clue he was sent to a death trap, I should've known about that place beforehand. I would've kept him safe then, like you would have. But even if we all knew, he'd protect us to the best of his abilities. I've seen him in action a couple of times back at home years back. He's got heart, I'll give that among everything else."

Ezina's hardened gaze softens as her hair gradually turns yellow. Her scarlet eyes lost their color and they brimmed with tears.

"He may be a smart-lipped, stoic-faced prick, but he's my brother and I love him, really. I wouldn't want him to be any different." He sniffed. "I miss him a lot. You probably do, but a lot more than me and I understand that. If only I told him that I loved him sooner."

"S-shiiiaa..." The blonde drew out as all traces of red were drawn out from her. The ice she was encased in cracked and shattered, letting her fall to the ground on all fours. The other blonde, crying himself, went to her and drew her in for a hug as she sobbed louder into his shoulder.


	7. Departure

_"What is acceptance?" Shiano asked, his head cocked slightly to one side as he pointed to the word on the page of a dictionary he and Ezina read. That same word that caught his eye, it seemed almost familiar somehow. But he couldn't quite register it._

_"It means three things. Taking what is offered to you, whether it be good or not, and the act of accepting something or even someone. And also, being accepted as well." She answered with a smile. "It can't be forced, as it comes from learning how to accept things by starting off not being able to until, well, you do later."_

_The albino nodded slowly and scooted closer to slowly wrap an arm around her. She didn't mind him getting this close, let alone his low body temperature as it was comforting sometimes. At least to her._

_"Do you think," He began, his voice wavering slightly as he took off his glasses. "That I will be able to accept the concepts of my past? That there is no undoing it alongside the abuse I was subject to after all this time? His brows furrowed as his mulberry-colored pupils shone with tears._

_Ezina sighed, reaching up to muse his snow-white hair, "Yeah. But it's all over now, love, you won't have to go through all that crap now that your wank of a father isn't around anymore. If he so much as decides to look for you, we can knock that knobhead around together, I promise you that, Shia."_

_Shiano looked over, a soft smile creasing his saddened features._

_"Thank you, Ezi."_

* * *

Ryuken stood leaning against the wall outside the room the blonde was grieving in, shedding tears himself. It hadn't taken him long to bring her under control, seeing that he had his brother's power at his disposal long before he died. 

By then, after managing to entrap the rabid female in a block of ice with only her head unscathed after she tried to fry him, he told her she wasn't the only one who torn up over Shiano's death. He felt the same way and almost went berserk himself, but she needed to calm down because she was starting to take it out on other people. Like Bicchiere and Keith.

He huffed through his stuffy nose as he wiped away a tear. That tennis fanatic made the smart move of hoofing it out of there, though he left his friend behind to be flung towards his home shortly after. After that, she turned on him like he was the one to off his own brother. If not for the strange change in her, he would have easily overpowered and restrained her until she calmed down, but it wasn't easy.

Not only did her Light attacks sting like fire (which it did), but her strength and speed has doubled, maybe tripled, he doesn't know. He was too busy wrapping the sudden appearance of her rage and red aura around his head to concentrate on not getting messily disemboweled.

Not that it would kill him if that happened, but that Ezina would've gone onto the hold him down and rip out every organ in his body. After that, she'd probably either fill his autopsied corpse with her aura and watch him burn to a crisp, smash his head in, or some other gruesome method. He'd be back good as new within an hour, which wouldn't have mattered to him anyway if she didn't mindlessly wander off to kill someone else.

Avoiding that possibility and the numerous red balls that exploded when they got within a meter of him was a hell of a time for Ryuken, that's for sure. When she finally calmed down, she just broke down in a fit of sobs. It hurt to see her like that, even if he didn't show it. Whatever killed his brother and the other two in that mansion, they were done for, by his or Ezina's hands (when she comes to her senses).

The blonde huffed a sigh and stepped to the front door, a transparent 12 gauge pistol in hand, and both his eyes sangria-colored with his yellow pupils shining brightly. He opened it to find Mike Df standing with Ryder, who held a bowie knife with a miniature buzzsaw embedded in the middle.

He gave a small curt smile, "Thanks, I could use the backup."

"It's the least we could do, Gurrie." The emerald-haired man replied with an acknowledging smirk while the other in camouflage nodded, one of his eyes pitch black and the pupil crimson.

"We'll help you avenge your brother and all that died there. This ghastly murder spree ends tonight."

Ryuken grinned, "Heh, got that right."

_We're coming to bring you back home, aniki, just you wait_


	8. Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryuken has a bad dream.

His eyes slowly crack open once he has finally come to after suddenly blacking out. The first thing he heard was the soft whistle of wind passing through instead of the hum of the car he got into with Ryder and Mike not too long ago.

_ Weird dream, huh? _

Even weirder was that his first sight was the ground, which was mauve and patterned in bubblegum dots that moved in a small zig-zag motion. He watched the line of dots preamble and shuffle along the ground that softly undulated beneath him. Getting up to his feet, Ryuken looked up, seeing nothing in the distance save for the Multi-stripe patterned sky that went diagonal, consisting of magenta, jam, orchid, wine, and lavender, with some instances of periwinkle clouds.

That, the mirror floating in midair, and the lively ground was all he could see for miles when he looked around, the shades of purple of this strange dream world surrounding him. He looked into the mirror, A bit surprised that his clothes were purple as well, including his hair of a lighter shade, but not the long stripe that hung from it.

" _Welp, a little more purple never hurt anyone. Well, at least not me._ " The former blonde spoke to no one in particular as he studied himself in the mirror. His whiskers and black eyeliner weren't present and he didn't feel his feline self at all. Not even a bit of his skin cracking and vaporizing, just nothing but an uneasy feeling beginning to overtake him.

Sighing in mild disappointment, he took a step closer to the mirror and gave it a small tap. To his surprise, his reflection in the mirror disappeared, leaving only the reflection of the purple world to be seen. Not even a second after, a figure with purple hair and clothing appeared in it. What made him take notice was the guy's clothes the exact design as his brother's, minus the gloves.

" _Come closer, I will not harm you._ " It said, smiling as it beckoned him forward with a hand.

It wasn't who he thought it was, but he couldn't help but step closer, disregarding his senses telling him otherwise. When he was an inch away, the strange being placed a hand on the glass from the other side, its palm looking as though it were phasing through. Does it want him to do the same? Probably so by the way he motioned to his hand and it's own a few times in encouragement.

Hesitantly, the blonde raised his hand up to match the purplenette's, not taking notice of the patterns halting and the world turning a darker color the closer he got. The feel of unease at its apex made him tremble slightly and his posture waver. Something was off here, and he knew it. His palm made contact with the lukewarm glass right as he found out everything had grown dark but he didn't dare look away from the figure in the reflection. Not that it'd help anyway.

" _Ok, now what?_ " Ryuken asked after a few seconds of uneasy silence between them. The figure says nothing in return but stares straight ahead into his eyes, its violet pupils turning red and its mouth curling into a grin. The blonde's eyes narrow in confusion at first, but slowly contort into shock and fear when he noticed red leaking from its hair. He open his mouth to say something but nothing came out. Not even sound.

Or anything for that matter. As it turned out, his mouth had disappeared without him noticing, leaving only the area where it once was.

As more red oozed down the grinning figure's head, large rivulets of black and dark red began to flow from its eyes that turned pitch black. Ryuken watched in growing horror as Its pale skin began to droop and melt as its clothes turned black and dripped blood. Its grin began to distort as well, its teeth becoming sharp and slick with ink, some of them falling out.

The mirror of the horror show started to crack and splinter at the edges, reaching towards the center around the melting entity that was completely encased horizontally in black and red. The blonde went to move his hand away but found he couldn't, as something held it flat against the glass. Thick scarlet then oozed from the cracks at the top of the mirror, coating every inch of it and running over his hand. The warm and slimy sensation didn't help things out some, especially when his hand began to sink into the runny mass.

" _S-shit!_ " He cursed in his mind as he grabbed hold with his free hand and pulled with all his might, but it was useless. He helplessly struggled against the freakish mirror that dragged him in until it stopped halfway in and his other arm was stuck. His strength was fading and he felt glued on the spot but he kept up the pitiful struggle to no end. He stopped when he watched a pair of inky black arms rise from the still bleeding mirror and grip him by the shoulders. He stared bug-eyed and shaking as a head rose up as well, its face chockablock with red sclera-ed eyeballs and a wide savage grin with sharp teeth that were white and gleamed in the dark of the dream world.

Its runny grin widened the closer it got to Ryuken's scared face and its mouth opened ever so slightly.

"WhY?" It croaked in a severely raspy but deep voice.

The blonde couldn't answer but instead stared helplessly into the creature's many eyes that all lasered in on him.

" _WhY dIdN't YoU sAvE mE?_ " Its claws sink into his arms deep, drawing red. He winced, yet he felt no pain.

" _WhY?! i ThOuGhT yOu LoVeD mE!_ " It growled, its nails going deeper, he could feel something hot in his veins.

" _YoU aRe NoW uNdEr My **PoSsEsSiOn** ToO!_"

He squirmed, puffing frantically from his flared nostrils when the burning spread from his arms into his body and up into his brain, not only filling him to the brim with unimaginable pain but also constricted his breathing.

" _AnD wHeN i Am DoNe, **YoU wIlL bUuUuUuUrN!!!**_ "

* * *

"Agh!" Ryuken cried out as he jolted awake, almost sitting up in a rush, but stayed put when he found he laid on Mike's lap in the backseat. The purple-haired driver saw his waking outburst through the rearview mirror, his eyes shifting in concern as he drove to their destination.

"Nightmare?" He said as the blonde straightened up out of the greenette's weak grip.

"Y-yeah, but it's nothing, really." He said, shrugging while looking out the window, quick to wipe away any tears that surfaced. He doesn't get to see him like that. "W-wasn't so bad."

Not questioning him further, Ryder shrugged and returned his focus to the road. When he was sure the vet couldn't see, he bit his lip tight to stifle any sounds that tried to surface as more tears slipped out, one eye dark purple, the other pure white.


End file.
